This weeks challenge is a bit more... challenging

Last week our challenge was to not use any electric kitchen appliances. It went very well, until Wednesday night when the storm hit. First of all, we had the grill fired up and heating to cook supper that night but then the thunderstorm came with heavy wind, rain and lightning. No one wanted to stand out in that with a metal flipper, so we moved it in to the stove. That was all ok except that night sometime, a tree blew over somewhere and took out a gas line for the city so everyone's gas was knocked out. School was canceled and most work places shut early since there was no heat and the temperature was dropping steadily to the 30's. So we decided Thursday that, in the interest of being able to make food, we'd allow appliance use until the gas came back on! It ended up being only until Thursday night, but we were thankful to it back on and working.


This weeks challenge

Our challenge for this week is to reduce our water usage. It's difficult because we thought it'd be good to have some actual results to compare to, but we weren't really sure where to start. We don't know exactly how much we use each week or what would be realistic to try to reduce it by (half seemed extreme). So we started by coming up with a list of ways to reduce our use like shorter showers, filling cups only half full at dinner and getting more if wanted, flushing less and continuing to make sure loads of laundry and dishes are completely full before running. We're also checking the meter at the street to see the numbers (though we're not sure what they mean) and trying to make the difference smaller each day.

In the interest of not having a post without pictures, here are a few from our first trip of the season to Dairy King. We bundled up to get some ice cream, and then wimped out and came back home to eat it by the heater.

More fun animals that we're not bringing home

Last weeks challenge of spending only half of our grocery budget went well. A few of us went grocery shopping Monday evening and I'm happy to report that we spent only $36 of the $40 allowed! That's after I argued them down by $3 dollars on mispriced lettuce, which would have put us at $39. So that's $44 for Heart and Hand's food pantry!

Last weekend for learning, we went with Jim from church to a former coworker's farm where she raises 48 alpacas. We were impressed at her knowledge of the history of the animals and their use in South American countries.

And they were also just too darn cute!

They really liked Ian, maybe partly because he had a bath the night before and they thought he smelled delicious!

We may need to stop visiting adorable animals because every time, those in the household 19 years old and younger always want to bring one home! But at 5,000 - 7,000 dollars each, they really couldn't afford to bring home an alpaca on their stipends anyway!

Here he's feeding them, so that's why he's surrounded.

This weeks challenge

Beginning this past Saturday, our challenge for the week is to to not use any electric kitchen appliances. We are excluding the refrigerator and freezer, but includes everything thing else in the kitchen only: microwave, oven (but not the stove-top since that is gas and we could use it if our power is out), mixer, dishwasher, toaster and coffeemaker. So far so good, and since it's a warm week (60's and 70's!) we'll be using the grill! Yay for spring!

Sharing our stories

We thought we'd share the personal stories that each of the adventurer's wrote and shared as part of our recruitment presentation. They did an excellent job and thought through what they had to say. To get them thinking, we asked "why did you decide to do Service Adventure?"

Tara

Celebrating Tara's half-birthday

I graduated from high school last May and had no idea what I wanted to do the following year. Everyone kept telling me that I should go to college and get a job, but it didn't sound appealing to me at all, so I started thinking about what I could do for God. I talked to my youth pastor Mike, and he showed me a few options and got me really excited about the idea.

At first things didn't work out so I gave up on all plans to serve in the fall and just thought about what I was doing for the summer. First on the agenda was VBS. I was a teachers helper for first grade and have been doing that since my freshman year. I love watching the kids sing and learn about Jesus.

Next thing on the list was my mission trip to Memphis and New Orleans. That trip was a real eye-opener, all of my thoughts of serving came flooding back and I had a strong feeling that I needed to serve God more. So I came home and had a nice long talk with my mentor Mary. She thought it was a great idea and helped me even more with my plans. She told me about a program called Service Adventure. It is for kids my age who volunteer for ten months. At first I didn't really like the idea and I let my nerves get the best of me, but the more I thought about it I kept getting this feeling that I needed to do it.

On July 1st, my 18th birthday, I sent in my application. Things after that were a blur. I went on vacation and found out where I was placed. I told my family two weeks before I had to leave. my sister and brother-in-law were a little shocked but very supportive. They drove me to Philippi, WV on August 17, listened to me cry and say that I wanted to home. But they told me that I needed to wait it out. I'm glad I did because I have had an amazing experience. There are times when I sit back and realize, wow, I actually left home for a year and I'm so proud of myself.


Ranita

Ranita at a bonfire, in her amazing glowing sweatshirt!

There were several different reasons I came to Service Adventure, but one was to figure out a career. I had always been interested in the medical profession, so when I saw the listing for a doctor's aide position I knew immediately that that was the one I wanted. I figured it would be a great idea to try out nursing to see if I really liked it before spending four years of college studying it.

So I went in with great hopes. At first I was kind of timid about my work and didn't want much patient interaction, but the more I did it, the more I actually liked it. My boss rotated me around the first couple months so I could see all areas of the clinic. In November my rotation took me to my scanning job. While it wasn't as bad as it may first sound, it wasn't something I was looking forward to spending a lot more time with. Once all my rotations were done I went to talk to my boss about what I would do the rest of the year. I was so sure she was going to let me pick and I had a little speech planned out. So I was totally unprepared when she said she was going to keep me in scanning. I almost cried as I walked out of her office.

That night I was pretty upset about the whole thing. I don't really know what my expectations were going in, but they were along the lines of me making poor people feel better. Scanning didn't feel like I was serving those people at all. It felt like I was the Myers Clinic slave, used for only their personal benefit. This wasn't what I had expected. I didn't know if I could take six more months of scanning.

Eventually things have all kind of worked out. I usually start my day out in scanning, helping to get the charts ready for the next day. After we get our work done there I go around visiting. If an aide is sick or not there for some reason I get to take her place. Sometimes my boss lets me pick where I will work for the day. But most importantly God has given me a different attitude. He has showed me that service isn't about doing what you want all the time. Service about doing what's needed, whether you get any personal gain from it or not. This doesn't mean I don't sometimes complain about scanning or take a little too long on my visits to the walk in center. But I try to remember that whatever work God has given me is what He wants me to do. So that's one way I have grown and changed this year, and I hope I continue to do so.


Christina

Christina is excited about ice skating!

When I graduated from high school I wasn't sure what I wanted to do. I didn't really want to go to college just because everyone else was. So my parents helped me look into some other options. I found out about Service Adventure so I looked more into it and it sounded like something I wanted to do.

When I found out I was placed in Philippi, WV I was both excited and scared at the same time. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. As time was getting closer to coming to West Virginia, I was having doubts about whether or not I wanted to do this. My parents encouraged me to stick with it and give it a try, so I prayed about it and asked God to give me peace about coming. 

Since being in WV I have learned so much. When I hear all the different stories and situations of people who come through our ministry (Heart and Hand), It's really made me appreciate the little things I sometimes take for granted in life. I have a greater appreciation for everything that I have and I'm thankful to have the family that I do. My faith has grown and I hope I can continue to grow and follow what plans God has for my life. Service Adventure has been a great experience and has opened my eyes to a lot of things in my life and I'm so glad I did it.

Things we learned in the dark

Our week with no electric after 7pm has been fun and surprising at times. We wondered whether it will affect our bill at all.

Here are a few things we've learned:

• Our eyes adjust rather quickly without the big lights. 
• Everyone has different versions of Rummy that they've played, and once we settled on rules, Mike still beat us. (He will lose at something, sometime!)
• It is peaceful in the dark, and the quiet is not as ominous as some originally thought.
• We tend to go to bed earlier when the house is already dark. 
• Too many different scented candles is not always a good thing.
• Circle stories (where everyone takes a turn adding to the story as we tell it) are more fun in the dark and everyone can contribute, though we tended to lose some direction when it was Ian's turn!
• You really must be thorough when washing dishes in the dark.
• Though a lot of fun, tasting various weird flavors of chocolate (like chile and wasabi) may not be the best idea in the dark, since you can't tell that you've dropped it on the couch till you find it melted there in the morning!

This week's challenge
Our challenge this week will be to spend only half of our grocery budget and to donate the rest to Heart and Hand's food pantry. Our weekly budget is $80, so we have $40 for the entire week. If the $40 is spent at the main shopping time, more cannot be bought later in the week.

Our Challenge

This week we started a new challenge. We're trying to come up with a great name for it, so if you have any ideas let us know!

Lounging by candlelight

We all wrote ideas on slips of paper and put them in a basket of things to give up, simplify or do for a week at a time and we'll draw one out every Friday night or Saturday morning (not sure which, just before we get groceries anyway). Our challenge this week was to not use electricity after supper. We discussed and refined it to be 7 pm to 7 am and we'd try to minimize flashlight use, leave the fridge on but try not to get into it, turn off clocks and computer. Oh, and children are exempt! We can't lose those nightlights after all. Even though it's a little warmer out, our heat is still on and runs some, but since it's gas we aren't turning it off. The water heater is also gas so that stays on as well.

So far it's going well. We're getting to bed a bit earlier and we're having fun in the candlelight, telling stories and playing cards. We don't know what these challenges will teach us or whether the habits we learn will stick. I'm sure some will and some won't. But we're sure to learn a few things about what we can do along the way!

We decided to share about the challenge in church and invited everyone to do it with us if they'd like. We'll share each week what we drew and they can join us or just pray for us and keep us accountable. We'll also be sure to share here what our weekly challenge is.

The Bucket List
As we were talking about our new challenge and ideas to throw in the basket, we suddenly realized that it's March. MARCH! We have just three and a half months left here together! March has snuck up on us like, well, sort of like Tara likes to sneak up on Christina - quickly and stealthily!

In response to our sudden revelation we composed a "bucket list" of things we need to do, see, try and experience before we part. Most things are not "big" or places to go, so we should be able to get a lot of them checked off. We'll keep you posted on that as well! Hopefully our list will also help us to remain present here with each other as the adventurer's are looking ahead and planning for what happens next after Service Adventure.

Oh the places you'll go...

(Seems especially fitting today on Dr. Seuss' birthday!)

Here is everyone happy before we started out.
We were still happy at the end, just a lot more tired!

Last week was our big recruitment trip. We had a lot of fun but were ready to come home and get back to routine. We managed to all stay healthy until Sunday the day we were leaving to come back. Ella threw up a little, then a lot. So we carted two buckets with us in the car, one for Ella and one for the backseat passengers who might have had issues if Ella did more!

We made it back safe, later than planned with only one stop for vomit, plus having to slow way down because of very heavy rainstorms all through West Virginia!

Anyway, on to the trip!

We started Tuesday after work and drove through to Dewey, Illinois, Tara's hometown. We stayed on their farm where we got to ride and drive tractors, see the cows, see her high school and meet many friends.

She's a natural!

Poor Christina, these cows weren't very friendly!

 

Ian driving with Tara's dad.

McHugh's in the "small" tractor

Tara, Ranita and Christina out for a ride on the front loader...

...and what happens when you've been off the farm for a few
months and try to show off :)

Ian, Mike and Ella in the wheel of the "big" tractor

Wednesday evening we gave our presentation at Tara's home church, Dewey Evangelical Mennonite Church, at their Wednesday night service. Everyone was very nice and welcoming, and Mike and Heidi enjoyed meeting Tara's youth pastor Mike and his wife Heidi! (We should have taken a picture!)

We played in the gym between supper and the service.

On-stage at the Umble Center at Goshen College

Thursday night we headed to Goshen, Indiana, McHugh's hometown and spent the night at Heidi's parents house. On Friday Mike and Heidi showed everyone around Goshen and Mike gave a behind-the-scenes tour of Goshen College.

Christina, Tara and Mike getting ready to tube

Friday night began snow camp at Amigo Centre in Sturgis, Michigan where we worked as volunteers through Saturday. We didn't do our full presentation, but we did introduce ourselves and showed our promo video. We also managed to have bit of fun - after all, someone had to make sure the tube-run was ok!

Ranita and Christina

Finally, Sunday morning we all went to McHugh's home church Sunnyside Mennonite Church in Elkhart. We had a great visit there, talking with many people and we showed our videos and shared in the youth Sunday school class.

  








Recruitment videos
by Mike and Tara

Intro/promo video



Video showing a glimpse of unit life



Video showing some of the jobs in Philippi